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They will try, and probably sooner rather than later.As much as they detest Musharraf they hate Benazir Bhutto even more. And right now they’ll be in full-throated homicidal howl now that Bhutto has arrived in Pakistan.Bhutto has been exiled for eight years following charges (since negotiated into an amnesty) that she and her regime were corrupt - but now she’s picked a politically opportune moment to return to Pakistan. Musharraf is growing weaker every day and the Pakistani population is growing uneasy because of the upswing in radical Islamist attacks. Bhutto enjoys great support from the moderate Muslim population as well as the minorities. From the AP: Hundreds of buses and other vehicles festooned with billboards welcoming her back were parked bumper-to-bumper along the boulevard from the airport to the city center. A huge red, green and black flag of her Pakistan People’s Party hung from one apartment block overlooking the route.Supporters including representatives of Pakistan’s minority Christian and Hindu communities and Baluch tribesmen with flowing white turbans, walked toward the airport, while groups of men performed traditional dances, beat drums or shook maracas along the way.The radicals are no doubt foaming at the mouth with homicidal fury. They hate Musharraf, yes, but they hate Bhutto even more because of that popular support and because of this one huge strike against her - she is a woman. And they will do everything they can to kill her for that reason, above and beyond all others.To their misogynistic, troglodyte way of thinking a female can’t leave the house without the escort of a male relative. A woman has to cover herself from head to toe lest her, well, anything be seen. A woman can’t vote. A woman can be beaten for any reason or no reason. A woman can be put to death with just an accusation of adultry, no proof required. A woman, in short, is property, to be owned and abused as you wish. In their seventh century world a woman certainly can’t be president. The horror.The radicals will not stand by and let a woman lead Pakistan. Especially one who will stand up to them the way Musharraf has and who enjoys popular support.The woman has courage, no doubt about it. She knows all the above but she came back to try to lead her country anyway. Taking all the usual motivations of a politician out of it, which I view with a certain amount of cynicism, I wish her well. The Islamists, however, don’t.With their usual toxicity they will do what they can to poison any hope for the future Pakistan may have.As in the days of Noah...
